CONCORD — The key to winning the Bank of America Roval 400 on Oct. 13 is to be the fastest hare while avoiding the tortoises.
For the third straight year, fifth-graders from Our Lady of the Assumption School in Charlotte participated in the STEAM at Charlotte Motor Speedway Contest. The six students, alongside their classroom teacher Mrs. Whitney Hannah and art teacher Ms. Rachael Wilken, painted one of the “turtles” that make up the protective barrier around the road course. They will compete for a chance to have their “turtle” placed in the coveted Turn 1 spot.
They were assigned the letter "S" in STEAM for Science! Prior to arriving at the speedway, they designing their "turtle" at school and spent the day Sept. 23 executing their vision.
The winning school will also get a visit from Lug Nut, Charlotte Motor Speedway’s mascot. Ian Calderon, Frena Tewolde, Shiloh Kangauka, Cherry Pha, Amanuel Berhane and Ethan Doan joined 58 students from seven other schools in the competition.
See their finished product and vote for your favorite school (Go OLA!): https://www.charlottemotorspeedway.com/paint-the-roval-turtles/. Voting closes Oct. 6.
— Photos by Troy Hull